Originating from Johannesburg, Mohammed obtained his BSc degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Marine Biology and Applied Biology in 2014. He then went on to complete his Honours degree in Marine Biology the following year. Mohammed then undertook a 12-month internship at C4 EcoSolutions, focussing primarily on climate change adaptation. In 2017, Mohammed relocated back to Johannesburg where he underwent somewhat of a career shift, teaching high school Biology and Physical sciences. During this same period, he obtained a postgraduate certificate in Climate Management from the University of Edinburgh. Passionate about learning and furthering his studies, Mohammed joined the FRC as an MSc student. He later went on to upgrade is MSc and now holds a PhD from UCT. His project, which was supervised by Dr Helen Dallas, Dr Jeremy Shelton and Emer Professor Charles Griffiths, focussed on distribution patterns of freshwater fishes across the whole of South Africa.
Mohammed is currently employed as the Student Development Officer in the Science Faculty at UCT working on implementing the Faculty’s academic advising programme along and developing its decolonial scientific curriculum. Mohammed’s post-PhD research is primarily focussed on the distribution patterns of fishes and the data-policy interface in freshwater systems in South Africa, through the Freshwater Research Centre (FRC) and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB). He is especially interested in climate change and its impacts on both natural and human systems.
Mohammed is also passionate about education and using science as a tool for social justice and upliftment. He frequently assists on Living Labs and Youth 4 Conservation projects, service as a co-facilitator for river-based experiential learning. Away from work, Mohammed dreams about being a marine biologist who works on killer whales rather than Cape cyprinids. He loves spending time in nature, going on political rants, and watching Liverpool be the best sports team in human history.
Formal Education
PhD (Freshwater Ecology, University of Cape Town)
PG Certificate (Climate Management, University of Edinburgh)
BSc Honours (Marine Biology, University of Cape Town)
BSc (Applied Biology and Marine Biology, University of Cape Town)
Specialisations
Freshwater fish ecology, species distribution modelling, eDNA, community ecology, conservation interventions
ResearchGate: Mohammed Kajee